The Jacks will once again have their hands full in what has been a rough start to Summit League play. The Jacks take on ORU in a three-game series starting tomorrow at 6 p.m., followed by two-afternoon games on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
“The schedule isn’t going to let up for us, we just have to persevere,” SDSU head coach Rob Bishop said. “Hopefully, we can get a little bit of momentum and just play our best baseball as the conference season unfolds.”
Despite being picked to win the Summit League in the preseason conference coaches poll, the Golden Eagles have had a lackluster start.
ORU currently sits third in the conference at 4-4, but all four losses have come against the two teams currently above them in the standings (NDSU and St. Thomas).
The Golden Eagles currently have the best pitching staff in the conference, tallying an ERA of just 4.8 as a team. ORU has the top two pitchers in ERA this season in Easton Teel and Nathan Love. Teel has an ERA of just 2.43 in nearly 30 innings this season, while Love bolsters a 3.34 ERA in 35 innings.
The weakest aspect of the Golden Eagles has been their hitting, but Wailele Kane-Yates has been the most consistent batter in their lineup with a .318 batting average with five home runs and 22 RBIs this season.
Will Edmunson and Cooper Combs are also threats at the plate, with both batting an even .300, combining for seven homers and South Dakota State slipped to the bottom seed in the Summit League after a winless series in Fargo.
With a postponed game three against North Dakota State, the Jacks will try to bounce back this weekend with a three-game stint against Oral Roberts in Oklahoma. The games can be streamed on the Summit League Network.
Game 1 (NDSU 5, SDSU 2)
The Bison’s timely hitting powered NDSU to an opening series victory over the Jacks Friday.
Each of the first five batters in the Bison’s lineup cracked hits, including a two-hit game from left fielder Colten Becker. Nolan Johnson took the win on the mound for NDSU, tossing 6.2 innings, allowing just one run on seven hits and three walks, striking out four.
“We played well,” Bishop said. “But both games were really determined by who got a big hit at the right moment.”
South Dakota State’s Carter Sintek batted 3-4 in the loss, while Jess Bellows and Luke Luskey each tallied two hits in a game SDSU left 11 runners on base. Caleb Duerr took the loss for the Jacks, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks in three innings on the mound.
Game 2 (NDSU 3, SDSU 2)
NDSU’s Colten Becker roped an RBI single to walk-off the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader over the Jacks.
Becker batted 3-5 with two RBIs for the Bison in game two, while Jake Schaffner also batted 3-5, scoring all three runs for NDSU. Skyler Reidinger took the win in one inning of relief for the Bison.
SDSU’s Dylan Driessen took the loss in the game, allowing an unearned run on two hits and three strikeouts in 1.2 innings pitched.
